


Hanahaki Drabbles

by Atagotiak



Category: Girl Genius (Webcomic)
Genre: Drabble Collection, F/M, Hanahaki Disease, M/M, Multi, Tags to be added as I post more
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-09
Updated: 2019-05-09
Packaged: 2020-01-07 04:58:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 1,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18403574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Atagotiak/pseuds/Atagotiak
Summary: Hanahaki: A disease of unrequited love. When the afflicted develops romantic feelings that are not returned, flowers grow in their lungs. This continues until the afflicted moves on, their love is proven to be mutual, or they die.Sparks, being sparks, have developed treatments. There are medicines and surgeries to slow the growth, or prune the flowers. It is now possible to live a very long time with Hanahaki.It is, of course, also possible to cure it. But to remove the flowers entirely is to remove your love.





	1. Day Lily

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm (not) sorry  
> Lars. Implied Agatha/Lars

The circus is a good life, Lars thinks. Lots of places to see, people to meet. Especially pretty girls. He likes them all, and of course, never wants to actually hurt them. But he takes pride in how nearly every town on their main route there's a girl who coughed up a flower or two after he left. 

Some of them tell him this while holding a cute little baby in their arms, courtesy of a nice boy in their village they eventually settled down with. He's glad to have known them. Glad to have _known_ them. And most of all glad they're happy now.

He's content to be the puppy love, the summer fling, the scandalous tryst.

It's a good life, with the circus, if a bit annoying when Abner opens up his flower book.

"Day Lily. Bloom in the morning, but gone by nightfall."

"Oh, well. That's me to a T, isn't it? Can't be tied down"

"I'm sure someday you'll find someone to stick around for."

"Hah! As if. Just look at my flowers!"

It's not until much later that he figures out what his day lilies actually meant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day Lily, here in the morning, gone by nightfall. Beautiful vibrant flowers with prominent _stamens._ They're associated with flirtation for the obvious reasons, but also sometimes with funerals.


	2. Bleeding Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> These idiots now.  
> Gil/Tarvek

It’s downright infuriating. Somehow even this affliction that _should_ be a sign that the sneaky bastard isn’t perfect, that not everyone loves him. It’s all folded into his smug superior image. He couldn’t even have a _normal_ flower, could he? He gets these perfect little red hearts that have all of Paris swooning over how _tragic,_ how _romantic_ he is as he coughs delicately into an embroidered white handkerchief. Like he stepped right out of a goddamn penny sparkle.

“Who knew you could actually love someone, Sturmvoras.”

“An emotion _you’re_ unfamiliar with Holzfäller, I’m sure.”

(Gil hides his nightshade better. His father wasn’t able to talk him into getting rid of it, but alongside occasional surgical pruning, he has to take medicine regularly to slow it’s growth)

(Fitting that this poisonous sneak gave him such a famously poisonous plant)

(He doesn’t let himself wonder who Tarvek fell in love with)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aside from being a famous poison, nightshade is also a historic beauty aid.  
> It's an opportunist that grows well in disturbed soil, and it's commonly accepted meaning is _deception_
> 
> Gil... Is a bleeding heart. 'nuff said.


	3. Snowdrop

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Othar/Oslaka  
> I didn't mean to ship this so hard, but now I do.

Othar has never, in his life, had flowers in his lungs.

Why should he? He’s Othar Trygvassen, Gentleman Adventurer. Everyone loves him. There’s no reason to doubt that.

* * *

Othar has never, in his life, had flowers in his lungs. 

He and Oslaka had fallen for each other at the same time, give or take a day or so. Neither of them have had time to develop hanahaki disease. He tells Oslaka about the flower that grows for him. A Phoenix Flower. Known for its ability to bounce back from near-death. 

He asks Oslaka what flowers grow for her, and she doesn’t know.

Well. He may as well give her flowers now. This island doesn’t have many. But he has his kiln, plenty of sand, nothing but time. Glass roses, carnations, tulips...

If she doesn’t know her flower, he’ll give her all the flowers.

* * *

Othar has never, in his life, had flowers in his lungs.

You can’t have flowers for the dead, after all. 

It’s time to leave ~~their~~ _the_ island.

He didn’t expect find the world in ruins after he returned. He didn’t expect to find a way to undo it either. It’s risky, but he wouldn’t be Othar Trygvassen if he was afraid of a little risk.

* * *

Othar has never, in his life, had flowers in his lungs.

Before now.

He’s at Castle Heterodyne. Over thirty years in the past.

Oslaka is alive.  
Oslaka has no idea he exists.  
But Oslaka is _alive._

Her flowers are snowdrops. Hope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Snowdrops symbolize death, rebirth, hope and the coming of spring.
> 
> The pheonix flower I chose just because I wanted to find something vibrant and charismatic and near impossible to kill.
> 
> Drigibird made this amazing art for it, and everyone should see  
> https://dirigibird.tumblr.com/post/185374213004/snowdrop-othars-twitter-adventure-got-me-fucked


	4. Clematis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> OT3

After Sturmhalten, Clematis joins the Bleeding Hearts. He makes token attempts at wooing Agatha, of course, but he doesn’t dare hope. _How could she ever want him after-_

Clematis. Intelligence, ingenuity, a bit of artifice, a traveller, a persistent flower that is always climbing towards the sun.

Oh dear, he’s rambling. 

The poison must be affecting him more than he thought. Oh well. Why would anyone try to poison him now anyways? One flower he could cope with but two? He’s near death as it is. Why kill him, when all they have to do is wait?

* * *

Agatha insists she has more important things to worry about than romance right now but she seems enamoured with Gil, maybe things will work out for them. That’d be nice.

But maybe she won’t measure up. It seems pretty impossible right now, but nobody’s perfect. And that’s what Gil does, doesn’t he? He leaves people. 

Tarvek’s skin matches the bleeding hearts now. And his hair. It’s a good thing he got red hearts, bright pink would have been a _disaster._

A bigger disaster anyways.

* * *

Gil is risking so much to keep Tarvek alive right now. They still fight, they always do, but it’s almost like Gil cares.

After the Si Vales Valeo connection is established Tarvek is almost certain Gil _does_ care. Not all the concern Tarvek’s feeling right now is coming from himself. Underneath that worry he could almost swear he could also feel… no. He must be imagining it. Gil couldn’t possibly-

It’d be better if he didn’t. The procedure is done and now they’re all dying.

* * *

Agatha is floating, a glorious angel wreathed in electricity. Tarvek thinks he might still be delirious.

Then the connection is in place again, and Tarvek finally understands.

* * *

Tarvek wakes up. For the first time in years, Tarvek _breathes._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Clematis: Rambly Tarvek said it all really.
> 
> I did consider giving Tarvek pink bleeding hearts, but that would just be too cruel.


	5. Nightshade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> OT3  
> Gilvek focus

Gil's been taking medications and pruning his flowers back for so long, but lately he’s barely had the time to do anything other than attempt to hold together what's left of his crumbling empire and work on the time bubble.

Besides, every purple petal he coughs up, every labored breath is a comfort. A reminder. Somewhere in there Tarvek is _alive._

(It’s no guarantee, it’s not like the flowers themselves know Tarvek’s condition, but Gil still chooses to take it as a sign)

He knows for sure that Agatha loves him back, and it's both a blessing and a curse. He wouldn’t trade it for anything, but he doesn’t have a keepsake of hers. 

So, he makes his own. 

The statues are beautiful. If it wasn’t midwinter the clematis vines climbing up their sides would be blooming.

* * *

Tarvek is disoriented, weak, and hurt. He nearly died ~~five minutes~~ two and a half years ago. Somehow Gil looks even worse. So he does what he always does. He hides his pain and he insults Gil.

(he's stopped pretending he meant it years ago, even by his own reckoning)

"- typical disregard for your own person as well as the people around you, therefore I am forced to accept that you are really here. How long has it been, and where is Agatha?"

Laughing, Gil hugs Tarvek, his joy outweighing his exhaustion and, in that moment, he almost doesn't look like he’s on the brink of death.

"Ha Ha! You're fi-"

And he breaks off into a coughing fit. After a few seconds out comes a small bell, with delicate looking stamens curled in towards the center. In this light Tarvek can't make out the colour, but...

"That's... Nightshade? What, over Agatha now?"

Maybe Tarvek too. He tries not to assume, this new person might not have _displaced_ Tarvek or Agatha. The emotion he felt through the Si Vales Vaelo seemed so clear. But it’s been ~~half a day~~ a long time since they last saw each other, it wouldn’t be unreasonable for Gil to have moved on.  
~~And maybe he was imagining it in the first place, but he was _so sure._ ~~

"What? No! But I guess there's no point hiding it anymore. They're for you."

Gil… can’t be that dense, can he?

"For me? But-"

He was hooked up to the machine too. He had to have felt-

"What, surprised I could love a weasel like you?"

"Red _fire,_ you are an idiot."

Clearly it was foolish to ever have assumed subtlety would get through to him.

"It's idiotic to love you? I hope you realize you're insulting yourself th-mmph-"

Tarvek will just have to take a more direct approach.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look, I don't know if I made him too clueless, but I am a _huge sucker_ for pining and angst. So.
> 
> Also, I have now added ships to the chapter summaries, and notes for my flower choices!


End file.
